My Terrible Mental Game

[MinnesotaBowler]

Hey guys, I'm preparing for the upcoming high school bowling season and I really want to fix something that killed my hopes of succeeding last year: my mental game. So here's how things go... I do really well at practices and even during USBC leagues. My physical game is good and I throw the ball pretty well, but for some reason I can never do well in my high school matches. I would have a lot of trouble hitting my mark, missed very easy spares, and bowled miserably. I just felt so much pressure in matches and I couldn't focus. I was named captain this year and I really want to redeem myself. A few months ago I started using a pre-shot routine which has helped me somewhat, but I still feel as though my mind is working against me. Does anyone have any tips or suggestions for me to fix this? Any help would be appreciated and I would like to thank you all in advance.

[billf]

Keep reminding yourself it's just a game and to have fun. Another thing that I heard to try a while back is to sing a song in your head. Have it match the tempo you need. Also, read Joe Slowinski's article about fear of success.
I have the total opposite problem; when the game doesn't matter or is out of reach I lose focus. The pressure shots, I love them but I have always thrived under pressure.

www.bowlingknowledge.info

[MinnesotaBowler]

Thanks for the tips Bill. Also, the article was very interesting. I will try incorporating those elements into my mental game.

[itstyler]

Minnesota. I understand what you are talking about. During tournaments or those high stress games I would have problems. Now I have gotten over that because I lock on to one target. Its all about.muscle memory. Clear your mind, if you start thinking about something on the approach just stop. Take a deep breath and bowl. You can do it man. And btw your lucky you have a high school with a bowling team. Something I wish I had. Good luck!

[wdc1987]

Pressure wise just bowl your game and not worry with the scores. When it comes down to crunch time at the end of the game take your time and dont over think it.

[Tampabaybob]

If you're shooting well in the leagues you should also be able to shoot as well in your matches. Think about what you do in your league matches that you are not doing in your other matches. The pre shot routine is VERY IMPORTANT and this is your "on-deck" circle. This is the spot (the only spot) where you want to think. Once you're on the approach the mind has to go blank and your muscle memory takes over. Another words relax. Kegel did a study a while back with the kids from Webber University, on breathing. They had them take a deep breath before taking their first step, and start to exhale as they start their approach. The results were pretty significant as the accuracy of all the bowlers increased. The study was in one of the Bowling this month magazines. I'll look for it and post it for you.

Bob

[MinnesotaBowler]

Thanks for all of the tips everybody! I will try to work on clearing my mind of any outside or negative thoughts. Also, I guess I never really tried taking deep breaths during my pre-shot routine. I will start working on doing that before every shot!

[billf]

Seriously? I would have thought your coach would have helped the team develop a pre-shot routine of wiping the ball and taking a deep breath AT A MINIMUM. Videos showed me that after that deep breath, I didn't blink or breathe again until after the ball cleared the deck. I never even realized it and don't even know if I still do it.

[MinnesotaBowler]

Seriously? I would have thought your coach would have helped the team develop a pre-shot routine of wiping the ball and taking a deep breath AT A MINIMUM. Videos showed me that after that deep breath, I didn't blink or breathe again until after the ball cleared the deck. I never even realized it and don't even know if I still do it.

Bill, lets just say my coach isn't the most technical person :p

[Tampabaybob]

Seriously? I would have thought your coach would have helped the team develop a pre-shot routine of wiping the ball and taking a deep breath AT A MINIMUM. Videos showed me that after that deep breath, I didn't blink or breathe again until after the ball cleared the deck. I never even realized it and don't even know if I still do it.

Bill, you know it's funny that you say that you're not sure if you still do that. You probably do 'still do it' because it becomes a natural part of your routine. And that's what you want. You want to do these things very mechanically, so you 'don't have to think' about every shot. Every once in a while during practice, just be sure you run thru 'all' of those things to be sure you are still doing what you want to accomplish.

Bob

[floridanative772]

Bill, lets just say my coach isn't the most technical person :p

I can understand that, when i bowled on my high school team the coach was a teacher that had pretty much no knowledge of the game and i imagine was just there to chaperone us to the games lol

[mrbowling300]

I would recommend this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Mental-Game-The-Inner-Bowling/dp/0933554184

I would recommend this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Mental-Game-The-Inner-Bowling/dp/0933554184

[billf]

Our local high school chose not to renew the contract of the bronze certified bowling coach that built the program from scratch and replaced her with two teachers that have ZERO bowling experience. I was asked to apply for the position but I can't leave work at 2:00pm to be at the bowling alley in time (2:45pm) for practice. Not to mention the fact the pay sucks lol

[Fatal]

The only thing I do in my "pre-shot routine" is wipe my ball and swing my arm. Thats not enough is it?

[billf]

Sure it is as long as it's enough for you to get focused. What line, release, speed, etc should already be decided before that point. Pre-shot routine is just to relax and clear your mind so the body can take over. You may want to add taking a deep breath just before your push away.

[motorpsykler]

I recently made great improvements to my mental game. Attitude is everything. When your making good shots, the mental game is easy. When you make a bad one, that's when you need to take control of yourself. Ever bowl 4 or 5 great frames and then crap the bed the rest of the game? I did that all the time. I always thought, "What the hell am I doing to cause this?". Then I noticed when I finished a bad game and started another, often times I was able to turn it back around. Why did that keep happening? Because between games I told myself, "OK that was a bad game, put it behind you and bowl a winner." Then one day I realized, why do I wait to do that until between games, why not just do that immediately after throwing a bad ball? So that's what I started doing and it has dramatically changed my game and my enjoyment of bowling as a whole. I no longer have huge swings in my level of play. Sure I throw bad balls, but I don't let a bad ball torpedo my whole game anymore. It's good advice to not pay attention to the score or more specifically, don't let the score have any effect on how you approach the next ball. The beauty of bowling is that every frame you get a fresh rack to start over. Think of every frame as a new game and a new chance to strike. Know what you want to do (adjustments) before you step on the lane, perform your pre-shot routine, take a deep breath, focus your eyes on the target and deliver the ball. Do it during practice as well, blocking out pressure and distractions is part of the game and as with everything else, practice makes it easier.

Oh yeah, and since you're team captain make a 'No negativity' rule on your team. Negativity is like an infectious disease, it will infect everybody.

[MinnesotaBowler]

Motorpsykler, thank you for the advice! I too seem to always wait until a new game to start fresh. I will take your advice in taking things shot by shot and try not to focus on the score. Also, I like the 'No negativity rule' idea. I think that is just what our team needs!

[Hot_pocket]

One thing that helps me is making sure out of all things i have that "good feel" with the ball while on the approach. What i mean is find that comfortable feeling of the ball on your hand because for me it increases confidence do to a good feeling release. If your releasing the ball good off your hand and everything feels right its always easier in my opinion to adjust from there. Also like Bill ,Bob and anyone who said breath find out what kind of breathes short and quick or 1 deep one with a slow exhale. I was the same way as you , except my reason was i didn't take bowling in H.S. seriously because we didn't have that many actual bowlers and my coach was a teacher who knew nothing. When i got to college it was a different story because there were actual bowlers and my coach was a bowler even though he was only a 160avg bowler. Just take your time and you will find what works

[Fatal]

The biggest thing I need to fix the most is getting angry. Once I get pissed my game goes to ****.

[billf]

Why get angry? Was making that shot going to change your life or your family's life for the better? Did not making it change it for the worse? Control what you can and blow off those things that are beyond your control. IP use the 15 second rule. After 15 seconds all emotions are gone. Deal with it fast and move on.

[JerseyJim]

Why get angry? Was making that shot going to change your life or your family's life for the better? Did not making it change it for the worse? Control what you can and blow off those things that are beyond your control. IP use the 15 second rule. After 15 seconds all emotions are gone. Deal with it fast and move on.

+1, I stew over a bad shot for a few seconds, and then concentrate on what I need to do to improve on my next shot. Personally I find that it helps to concentrate on my execution. If my execution is good, then the results most of the time will be good.

[Tampabaybob]

To all that may be having metal struggles with their game.....check this link out. It may answer some questions and help out several of you.

http://wiki.bowlingchat.net/wiki/index.php?title=Mental_Game_Toolbox

Bob

[Fatal]

Bill you are right. I need to quit focusing on the mistake I made and MOVE ON. Bob thanks for the link it was very informative. Jim I appreciate the input. Thanks fellas.

[Tampabaybob]

Here's an article from Susie Minshew in the September issue of Bowling this month that fits your question. It's long but the only way I could get it to you. Hope it helps.........Bob

SEPTEMBER 2012 BOWLING THIS MONTH
nuts & bolts
Susie Minshew

There will be times when you are confused by all you know. You've moved left. You've moved right. You've looked farther down the lane. You've targeted the dots. You've changed balls three times. You've tried forward roll. You've tried side roll. You've changed speeds. Nothing has worked. Now you are more confused and frustrated than you were before you started making all these adjustments.

The truth is that actually the more you know, the LESS likely you are to be confused. Here’s how that works from Silver Coach and BTM columnist, Steve Fuhrman.
“...the more you know and the better you are, the fewer choices you have to make because you will automatically avoid all but the best op- tions. So, in a way, the better you are, the fewer options you have because you don't need more of them to achieve your goals. I think that ‘Zen en- lightenment’ could be described as that rare state when you always have one and only one choice that is acceptable because you instantly see that every other choice would be worse.”

NOTHING WORKS
There has probably been a time in your bowling career you have been so frustrated you thought, "I've tried every- thing I know and nothing has worked." If you’ve been there, you know how to define the word panic. With all the things out there to contend with, (you, your opponents, lane conditions, where themoonis,etc),youneedeveryedgeyoucan get. If you think of all you know as a deck of cards or the neatly arranged tools in your nice big toolbox, you’ll know they will all be there when you need them.

The more you know about your game, the more weapons you have available. You know that practice is the best way to get intimate with your game. Practice is not two four-letter words! You can get to know your game in com- petition, but the price you pay is much higher. Don't just try something in practice once and blow it off. Try it again and again. Make sure you give it a fair chance.

Sometimes we define comfort as whatever it is we are used to doing. That doesn’t make it right; that just makes it comfortable. When you work with a change in your game and get comfortable with it, doing it the old way be- comes not just uncomfortable, but you wonder how (and why) you ever did it the old way!

Changes always feel differently before they feel better. If nothing changes, nothing chang- es. You will be the same player you are now. If you wanted to stay the same, why are you taking lessons, subscribing to this magazine, drilling new equipment, watching other bowl- ers, asking questions, and hanging around the pro shop? The change, regardless of how subtle, becomes another tool in your toolbox.

You may use it all the time or not have to use it often. Whichever it is, you only have to know two things about its impact on your game: what it will do and most importantly, when to do it.
When we try something in competition and it doesn't work, sometimes, in fact frequently, we tend to eliminate it from our bag of tricks. After all, if it didn't work, it didn’t work. Why try it again? The fact is that it didn't work AT THAT TIME. That doesn't mean it won't work now!
With modern lane conditions and equipment, there is constant transition on the lane. Whatever oiling pattern was put on the lane before anyone started bowling has nothing to do with now. All lane patterns are developed. Every ball thrown on a lane changes that lane. A ball that didn't work in practice may be just the thing by the middle of the second game.
Let's say a ball didn't get up to the headpin in practice. Back in the bag it goes and out comes a ball with a little more back end reac- tion. What are you going to do when it begins to finish sooner? How far left will you go? How hard will you throw it? How many splits are enough? Meanwhile that ball in the bag is gig- gling at not having to go to work. A day off, yea! You just shot 226, 180, 168...
What if you have decided, based on your reaction in practice, to use forward roll? When your shot starts going a bit longer, the 2 is a little slow to fall or a weak 10 stands, what will you do? Change balls? Change lines? Move your eyes? Move your feet? Both? How many frames will your opponents wait for you to re-find it?

MAKING A LIST AND CHECKING IT TWICE

Since we seldom remember everything we know, one of the most beneficial things I have found that you can do for your game is to list every single adjustment you know - everything from moving your wrist 1⁄4 of an inch in the starting stance to moving three arrows with your feet and eyes; from targeting the reflection of the heads of the pins to targeting the foul line; from taking your thumb out 1⁄8 of an inch to changing equipment.

Instead of your knowledge helping you conquer the condition, sometimes you can just become more befuddled. In the heat of battle, it's sometimes difficult to remain clear-headed. Let’s make a list. All right, stop rolling your eyes. I feel sure you know too much to write it all on your shoe, so.... Knowing the names and purposes of all you know will actually help you stay focused since it provides an organized and comprehensive resource of all the arrows in your quiver.

You will actually make two lists. One will be every Adjustment you know and the other will be every lane Condition you have encoun- tered. When making either list, do two things: be specific and free associate. Just start writing stuff down - no particular order or organiza- tion, just anything you think of.

As for the being specific part, name all the things you know to do for No Back Ends, for example. You can tuck your pinky, spread your index finger, lay the ball down early, change to your Destructomatic ball, use more loft, look shorter, move outside, move inside, whatever, etc. Now all those things go on your Adjustments list.

Since most adjustments can be used to accomplish more than one thing, what other conditions might elicit the need for one of these adjustments? Well, you might need more loft if the heads are dry; you might want to get the ball down sooner if the front part of the lane is oily; tucking your pinky might help you stay behind the ball longer; spreading your index finger might give you more side roll; moving outside might be something you do when the midlane is giving you poor reac- tion; the good ol’ RC ball (Radar Controlled) is what you usually use on fresh conditions and although this is not fresh, it is acting like it...
Be careful when you list the issues or lane conditions you feel you might face. Saying “oily lanes” won’t help you. Where are they oily? The heads? The midlane? The back ends? Be specific. If the list is too general, you’ll find yourself looking up what to do about too much skid and weak back ends when you should be looking up what to when the ball you’re using is hooking too early and burning
up, giving the appearance of weak back ends.

We have all been on conditions where we struggled. Let’s say the heads were really flying and you can’t seem to get the ball far enough down the lane. You think you’ve tried everything you know and you’re still ineffec- tive and frustrated. When you look at your list under "dry heads", a revelation! You’ve forgotten some things (looking at the dots on the left side of the lane, for example) and overusing others.
Making the list is an interesting task and you might be surprised at all the things you know. Sometimes you don't know what you know. Writing everything down somehow seems to make it more real. It is quite a con- fidence-builder to see that long and detailed impressive list.

TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS
Don’t forget instinct moves. They are just as valuable and important as the “rut” moves.
“Rut” moves are those moves you always make – one right for a weak 10, one left for a 4 pin – the stuff you have always done.
Instinct moves are the “I have no idea why I feel I should do this since it makes no logical sense but I’m going to do it” and voila! It worked. If you list ALL you know, including instinct moves, you won't forget any of them when the heat is on and you're uptight or scattered. No more driving home thinking, "I should have tried..."

RECYCLING A MOVE
Elite players have hundreds of subtle adjust- ments they use constantly. Their inventory is huge but more importantly, it stays huge. If what they tried didn't work, it’s still available to them because they put it back in the deck, not in the discard pile. They don’t discard anything they try. That would give a huge advantage to their opponent. They would never do that. Neither should you. Adjustments aren’t disposables or one-time use things. They should always be recycled instantly!



[Tampabaybob]

PART TWO:


GETTING INTIMATE WITH ALL YOU KNOW
The elite player diligently and frequently practices adjustments so they'll know what each will do and when to use it. Therefore, their adjustments generally work because they are so familiar with what those adjustments will do on the lane. You can attain this same confidence in what to do and when to do it with practice - an exercise that will be worth it to you when it's showtime and you make the right move at the right time instead of a mindless “Let's try this and see if it works.” As a coach, I really hate to hear, “Since nothing was working, I tried the swirly green ball because the masking unit had green in it.” Ugh. In my experience, making a fashion statement like that seldom cashes.

THE LISTS
Free associate with both lists. Start writing with no organizational thoughts. Just let one thought lead to another. Use terms or ideas only you understand if you wish. After all, it’s your list.

Conditions
Write down every screwy, weird, difficult lane condition you’ve ever encountered or can imagine. Be specific about it.
If the state tournament last year in another town got your goat, write it down. I know if that happened to you, you have thought about it a lot and decided what you would do if you get another chance at that pattern and circumstance. So, the truth is, you have a plan about what you will do and how you will play when you face those conditions again. Name it something you understand and write it down.

Use Dry Heads, Need Speed, Delay Roll, Play Up the Boards, and anything else you can name and describe as something you have or will encounter. If you bowl on the animal patterns (Shark, Chameleon, etc) or the city patterns (Stockholm, London, etc), name them as Conditions. If you prefer to use Short, Medium, Long, do so.

ADJUSTMENTS
On another piece of paper write every trick and adjustment you know, even instinct moves.
Here are a few of mine: Untuck Pinky, Close Index Finger, Close Right Heel, Fudge Release, Fan Shot, Target at Sternum, Hand Cocked, you know! Ball Down Early, Thumb
Out 1⁄8 Inch, Harris Release, etc. You can see some are trigger words for me and others are stuff you know.

Now that you have your two lists, it's time to combine them.
Put the Conditions across the top of the page and your Adjustment arsenal down the left side. Check off which adjustment would work on which lane condition.
Try it for yourself. You’ll be stunned at how much you know.

Susie Minshew is a USBC Gold Coach, Master Silver Instructor, a regional PWBA champion, and past president of IBPSIA. Visit her online at www.strikeability.com.

[Fatal]

Bob very informative. Thanks for the read.

[Tampabaybob]

Glad you liked it. Anyone, and I emphasize ANYONE that is int this game, should get a subscription to Bowling This Month. This magazine is like a bowlers Bible. I read mine cover to cover 2 or 3 times and then share it with my team mates. You will get more info from that one source than you ever thought possible.

Their web site is: http://bowlingthismonth.com

You can sign up for a free issue. I know anybody that gets it will love it.

Bob